Richard Grayson (New Earth)
Real Name: Richard John Grayson Nicknames: Dick, The Boy/Teen Wonder Former Aliases: Robin, Batman Other Current Aliases: No other known current aliases Status Occupation: Vigilante, former circus acrobat Legal Status: Citizen of the United States; legal heir of Bruce Wayne Identity: Secret Marital Status: Single Group Affiliation: Formerly Teen Titans, Formerly Justice League of America, Formerly Outsiders Base of Operations: Bludhaven; Formerly Gotham City Origin Dick Grayson, the first and original Robin, grew up and out of Gotham City moving to Bludhaven. Taking on the new codename of Nightwing and a leadership role with the Teen Titans, Grayson stepped out of Batman's shadows. Place of Birth: Gotham City Known Relatives: John Grayson (father, deceased), Mary Grayson (mother, deceased), Bruce Wayne (Batman, adoptive father), Jason Todd (Red Hood, adoptive brother) First Appearance: (as Robin) DETECTIVE COMICS #38 (April, 1940), (as Nightwing) TALES OF THE NEW TEEN TITANS #44 (July, 1984), (as temporary Batman) BATMAN #512 (November, 1994) History For many years, Dick was Batman's sidekick Robin. He was introduced in Detective Comics #38 (1940) by Batman creators Bill Finger and Bob Kane as (first) Robin. The sidekick debuted only a year after Batman and was part of an effort to soften the character of his mentor, originally a dubious, nightstalking vigilante. DC Comics also thought a teenaged superhero would appeal to young readers. The name "Robin the Boy Wonder" and the medieval look of the original costume were inspired by the legendary hero Robin Hood, as well as the red-breasted American Robin, which continued the "flying animal" motif of Batman. Young Dick Grayson was born on the first day of spring. His mother nicknamed him "little Robin". Little did she know how prophetic this term of endearment would be in her son's life. Dick Grayson was an eight-year-old half-Romany (gypsy) circus acrobat, the youngest of a family act called The Flying Graysons of The Haly Circus. Dick joined the act at a very young age, having been trained in acrobatics from birth. Before one appearance in Gotham, in which The Flying Graysons were the main attraction, they were asked to pose for a photo opportunity with the Drake Family, including their young son Tim Drake. From that time on Tim's one and only hero in the world was Dick. While on tour in Gotham City, he overheard "Boss" Anthony Zucco, a well-known and feared crime-lord, threaten the performers unless the circus's owner paid extortion money. The owner refused, and that night Dick watched in horror as his parents' high wire snapped, sending his parents hurtling to their deaths, all while many of Gotham's elite watched on. Young Dick felt responsible, because he didn't warn his parents in time. Shortly after the tragedy, the millionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne rescued Dick from an uncaring juvenile services system. Frustrated by the lack of attention from his new guardian and the mystery still surrounding his parents' death, Dick snuck out of Wayne Manor one evening to solve the crime on his own - only to stumble into Batman, who was also investigating the murder. They succeed in revealing Zucco´s complicity , but he dies of a heart attack before his arrest. Seeing a reflection of himself in Dick; that he could temper compassion with a thrist for justice, Batman not only revealed his identity as Bruce Wayne to the boy, but also made the young orphan the offer of a lifetime; the chance to become his crime-fighting partner. Dick chose the name Robin, and his training began. Robin's origin had a typological connection to Batman's in that both witnessed the crime-related deaths of their parents, creating an urge to battle the criminal underworld. This provided a bond and understanding between the two. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, DC Comics portrayed Batman and Robin as a team, deeming them the Dynamic Duo, and rarely published a Batman story without Robin, although stories entirely devoted to Robin appeared in Star-Spangled Comics from 1947 through 1952. Bruce taught Dick fighting techniques and detective skills for a grueling 6 months. Finally, Dick had to pass a final test - "the Gauntlet". Dick had to elude the Dark Knight on the streets of Gotham for one night - from sundown to sunset - without any outside help. Dick succeeded, simultaneously bringing Gotham gangster Joe Minette to justice. Dick took to the streets as Batman's full-fledged partner in crime-fighting: Robin, the Boy Wonder. Dick enjoyed his first year as Robin, regarding the job as an adventure until a confrontation with Two-Face served as a rude awakening for the young hero. Two-Face had captured the new District Attorney and Batman, and had each suspended from a hangman's noose in a 'double gallows death-trap'. Robin, in trying to save the D.A., used a batarang to cut the rope of the noose. It worked, but Robin didn't account for Dent's obsession with the number two-- it was a two-fold trap, and the floor gave way, dropping the D.A. into the water, where the man drowned. Robin was unable to prevent his death, and received a beating at the hands of Two-Face. A beating witnessed by Batman, still tied up on the platform trying to free himself. Eventually Batman was able to free himself and apprehend Two-Face. This event, however, scarred the young crime-fighter, and haunts him even today. Rather than see Dick be further endangered, Batman "fires" his partner, sidelining the Boy Wonder for a time. Dick continued his adventures with Batman, and began attending college at Hudson University. Robin started to take on solo missions as well, and found himself to be a capable crime-fighter in his own right. Shortly afterward, the mysterious Raven summoned Dick Grayson, and several other young heroes, to form a new group of Titans. Robin again resumed leadership, and moved out of the shadow of the Batman. Robin realized at that point that he had grown up: He no longer relied on Batman and, in fact, he and the Dark Knight disagreed on crime-fighting methodology. Dick's newfound independence and Titans' duties in New York left less time for his former commitments in Gotham City. He also dropped out of Hudson after only one semester. Dick rediscovered his self-worth among the Teen Titans. Batman, however, was less than pleased. He informed Dick that if he no longer wanted to be his partner, then Dick would have to retire as Robin. Furious, hurt, resigned, confused, eighteen year old Dick Grayson left Wayne Manor after this fallout. Helping him through this difficult time was his fellow Titans, including Starfire, a beautiful alien Dick had fallen in love with. Dick handed over leadership of the Titans to Wonder Girl. Uncertain what to do, he turned to someone he knew would understand: Superman. Very briefly, Dick had considered giving up the whole crime fighting gig; but he couldn't imagine his life any other way; But if he couldn't be Robin, who would he be? Superman had the answer. Long ago on Krypton, a man was cast out by his family - just as Dick had been. He dreamed of a world ruled by justice, and set out to protect the helpless of Krypton. His true identity was never revealed. He was known only as Nightwing. The Post-Crisis version of Grayson had him become the first and only Nightwing, with his costume partially inspired by his father, who at one time wore a circus costume that was a variant of colleague Boston Brand's Deadman costume. When all his teammates were captured by Deathstroke the Terminator, and delivered to the H.I.V.E., Dick assumed a new identity of Nightwing and helped to free them, with the help of new ally (and future Titan), Jericho. Nightwing had finally moved out of the shadow of the Bat, and would lead the Titans through some hard times. Dick endured brainwashing at the hands of Brother Blood, his relationship with Starfire would suffer due to her marriage of state, he would be deeply affected by the fact that Batman trained a new Robin (Jason Todd) only for him to be seemingly killed at the hands of the Joker (See also Batman: A Death in the Family). Feeling hurt and betrayed, Bruce and Dick would remain at odds with each other, never fully sorting out their strained relationship. While serving with the New Titans, Dick was searched out by an older Tim Drake, who had only one goal on his mind, for Dick to return to Robin. It was Dick's refusal to return that Tim started down the road toward becoming the new Robin. After weeks of persuading and proving his potential, Dick then returned to the Batman to plead Tim's case, with help from Alfred. Due to their arguments and the realization that the Batman needs a Robin, Tim Drake becomes the third Boy Wonder. Soon after, various members of the Titans were abducted by the Wildebeest Society. This event shook up the team in a big way. The group entered into tumultuous times, where members came and went, longtime friends were maimed or destroyed, although Dick persevered through it all, and remained the heart and center of the team. But his relationship with Starfire became strained,and problems in Gotham demanded Dick's attention. Impulsively, Dick proposed marriage to Starfire. The two almost wed, but the ceremony was interrupted by Raven, now reborn as an evil avatar of her father, Trigon. Her brutal attack on Starfire triggered changes in Dick and Kory's relationship. Starfire was implanted with a demon "seed" which causes her to leave Earth and go on a spiritual journey. The two grew apart, and Starfire eventually returned to her home planet of Tamaran. Meanwhile, in Gotham, Bruce Wayne had left the mantle of Batman to the unstable Jean Paul Valley. Dick intervened with new Robin Tim Drake, and when Bruce returned to Gotham, he brought Valley down and reassumed the mantle of Batman. When Dick returned to the Titans, he found there to be changes. The government interceded, placing Arsenal (the former Speedy) as leader of the team. Dick stepped aside and left the Titans, concentrating on problems in Gotham City. Still recovering from his broken back, Bruce asked Dick to substitute for him as Batman for a time. Dick accepted. During this time, Dick was able to confront Two-Face and lay some demons to rest. He also established a wonderful partnership with Tim. Bruce eventually returned to Gotham to reclaim his role as Batman. For the first time in a long time, Bruce and Dick began to heal their strained relationship. Bruce's respect for Dick was at last obvious. As of the current events surrounding the Infinite Crisis storyline, Nightwing has refused to join his recently resurrected friend Donna Troy as she journeys to New Cronus with several heroes. He has instead adopted a new villainous costume and persona in order to infiltrate Lex Luthor's Secret Society of Supervillains and seemingly attempt to trouble it from the inside. Under Deathstroke's employ, he is presently training Slade's daughter Rose, the newest Ravager. After a few issues of donning his new costume, Dick Grayson has adopted the temporary name of "Renegade" to go along with his new secret identity. Most recently, Dick has met and engaged in battle with a seemingly resurrected version of his adoptive brother Jason Todd. Upcoming series writer Bruce Jones is avoiding questions1 about whether or not Dick Grayson will still be Nightwing or if someone else will use the identity after the events of the Infinite Crisis and the one year time jump in the DC Universe. Animated Series Nightwing appeared briefly in the Teen Titans animated series in the episode "How Long is Forever?" as the future identity of Robin (another argument in favor of the theory that the animated Robin of the Titans continuity is really Grayson) Characteristics Height: 5'10" Weight: 175 lbs (79.4 kg) Eyes: Blue Hair: Black Unusual Features: No unusual features Powers Known Powers: No known powers. Known Abilities: Grayson is a world class dectective second only to the likes of Batman. A natural athlete who possesses near meta level agility and acrobatic skills. He is one of the only three people on Earth who can do the quadruple somersault. Although he has not mastered near as many fighting styles as his mentor what he has so effectively is combined the martial arts he has mastered and combined them in to a unique style that suits his strengths. This makes him one of DCs top tier martial artists. Strength Level: Strength level unknown Miscellaneous Equipment: Nightwing wears a Nomex and Kevlar fiber costume that is insulated and wired to deliver a single shot tazer charge. *His gauntlets contains a wide variety of tools and equipment including: *Monofilament decel jumplines and grapnels *Rebreather *Portable CPU/Monitor *Starlite nightvision lenses in mask for increased night vision Transportation: Nightwing has a transformable car has a convertable chassis that can disguise it self as any similarly sized vehicle like a taxi cab or sports car. It houses a 3.7 McLaren racing engine, automatic transmission and all wheel drive, dual batteries and puncture resistant tires. The car is not only bullet proof but also bullet absorbent in order to prevent stray ricochets from hitting innocent bystanders. Nightwing once used a customized boat; this boat presumably has the same specs as the Batboat if it was not the Batboat itself. Nightwing also has his own personalized model of the Batcycle. Weapons: Batarangs, Smaller shurikenlike "Wing Dings", regurgitant gas(tear gas with an additive to make you throw up) pellets smoke capsules. his right gauntlet contains a 100,000 volt stun gun. His preferred weapons are two shatterproof polymer Escrima sticks. Notes * Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger Trivia * Grayson took the name 'Nightwing' after being inspired by Kryptonian legends of "Nightwing and Flamebird" related to him by Superman. Recommended Readings * Related Articles * Batman * Teen Titans * Starfire External Links * Yahoo! Groups: Bludhaven References * Nightwing: A Knight in Bludhaven * Titans Tower: Dick Grayson's Bludhaven Connections * Wikipedia: Nightwing ---- Category: Characters Category: Good Characters Category: Living Characters